This is a Test--Only a Test.

I apologize upfront for using you in this test; however, thank you, in advance,  if you choose to participate.

I read a Pinterest graphic that indicated the best and worst times to post on various social media in order to drive readers to your blog. 

I am skeptical of a few of their time-frames.

According to the pin the best times to post on Pinterest are between  the hours of 2-4pm  and again between 8-11pm.

Hummm...

Between 2-4pm kids are getting home from school, stay at home parents are likely preping for dinner, and dayshift working parents are likely still at work. Between 8-11pm, parents of small children are struggling with new math and other forms of homework torture, dinner clean-up, and and fighting the bath-time fight,  while parents of older kids are likely attending  (or chauferring minivans full of not-yet-driving teens to) activities which showcase the talents and abilities of the rotten little apples of their eyes--the degree of their success will be elevated to genius and professional all-star status by the time these chaufers pen their own blog posts and Christmas Brag Letters.

The worst times to post on Pinterest are between the hours of 1-7am, and again between  5-7pm. I would agree with the 5-7pm time slot. Unless you are posting epic up-to-the-moment-Pinterest fails of the "fool-proof" dinners and crafts which may inadvertently (or, as my skeptical self sometimes wonders, on purpose) omit information essential for success.  As for the 1-7am time slot, presumably the household is sleeping.  While everyone else sleeps may be the ONLY time working moms, single heads-of-house, or party-going singles have time to read your blog.


According to the pin, the best and worst times to post on Facebook are similar to Pinterest: 2-5pm  and again between 6-8pm are best, while the worst time is between 10pm-4am.


Tweets it seems are a little less flexible with the best time being 1-3pm and the worst being 8pm-8am.

And LinkedIn is only good for the hours directly preceding (7am-8:30am) and following  (5pm-6pm) the business workday, while the workday itself (9am-5pm) is worst.

Unless your blog is a headhunting blog advertising available positions you are seeking to fill, I would agree with the business workday time slot as being the worst time to attempt to drive your readership up. 


Since I only post links to my blog on Facebook and Twitter, I'm going to attempt to have this post proofed and ready to post on FB by 8pm (end of the Best Time).  Then, at 10pm I'll check the reads and tweet the link. I'll check the reads at midnight (two hours after the link) which is during the worst time bracket. 

And at the end of the day I will have learned absolutely nothing about the reading habits of my readers--because I'm too cheap to pay to see a breakdown of from whence my readers hail.

But, I'll recheck tomorrow morning (10 am) and tomorrow afternoon (2pm) during my workday breaktimes to see if additional readers pop up.

By then my little test may confirm what I already believe:  most of my readers read me in the evening hours. No matter what time of day I post.

So, thank you in advance, for participating in this unofficial, unscientific, spur of the moment test.